“The Storm Before The Storm” is a story in the Washington Post by Joel Achenbach. He published this story on the morning of February 5, 2010. Joel’s post literally described the storm before the storm that occurred across many supermarkets in the mid-atlantic area before the approaching storm that will hit the area this weekend. Markets were crowded with people, but devoid of the essentials such as milk, eggs, fresh meat, and produce. Customers are fighting for items such as the last turnip in order to have enough food for the blizzard that will trap most people in their homes this weekend. It seems as if the markets are more of a war zone than a place to get basic essentials in the supposed calm before the storm. However, from the description of the markets, it seems as if phase one of the storm has already begun.

Joel Achenbach delivered this story in a humorous manner. He is a blogger known for his humility and this trait is evident in “The Storm Before The Storm.” Rather than saying how packed and devoid of food the markets are, he creates a story by depicting the market as a war-zone. This portrayal of fighting for food and the struggle a person has to go through to get a turnip create a comedic atmosphere as well, which engages the reader by making the simple story interesting. The news value was to highlight the frenzy that people are going through to get the basic essentials for the storm when in fact they are creating a new storm in the markets with the rush and chaos to get everything necessary. The story was successful such that I am not interested in reading news that lists facts and doesn’t engage the reader. This story was engaging by turning the news into a story, which therefore lead me to read the whole article and enjoy what was said in the creative way the author illustrated the news.